Are We Taking The Sex Offender Label Too Far? - Rhode Island Bar ...

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through the Bar’s United State Armed Forces Legal Service Project. Following the General’s address, I recognized Bar member and U.S. Army Captain Michael Jolin’s gift to our Bar of an attractive, framed, wooden presentation case including a plaque and an American flag which had flown in Afghanistan. I invited the Delegates to view the gift following the meeting, and former Bar President Harold Demopulos cradled the case in a touching manner. Harold left Brown University during World War II and served in Europe. He returned home following the War, completed his education and has become one of our Association’s elder statesmen. House member Jim Marusak has a son, Daniel, currently serving in Afghanistan, following the completion of his freshman year at Roger Williams Law School. I have known Jim since I started practicing in Rhode Island, and he is a very sincere man. Jim ran his finger along the case and told me, “I heard from my son, Danny, via e-mail on September 11th. He said that there was no place in the world that he would rather be on that day.” We need to be aware that while these young men and women are serving overseas, they leave behind families who need to be protected. I urge all members, especially veterans among the Bar, to volunteer for a U.S. Armed Forces Legal Services Project case. Please see the related article on page 11 in this Bar Journal. I also want to acknowledge the Bar’s Public Services Director Sue Fontaine on her and her staff’s work on this wonderful Project. Also, please keep Mike Jolin, who remains a member of the House while temporarily serving in Afghanistan, as well as the other members of the Bar Association and the families of other members whose loved ones are serving our country every day, in your thoughts. Attending Operation Stand Down: I had the honor and privilege to attend the first day of Operation Stand Down at Diamond Hill Park in September. Attorneys Bill Trezvant from the Attorney General’s Office, Peter DeSimone on behalf of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, Gretchen Bath from Rhode Island Legal Services, Rhode Island District Court Chief Judge Jeanne LaFazia and Rhode Island Family Court Magistrate Angela Paulhus, among many others, volunteered their time and energies to these veterans during that weekend. During the proceedings, I spent some time with several of the attendees, some of whom were around my age, and discussed their issues, many of which were heartbreaking. I also spoke with two former veterans who are Bar members and asked them to join our Armed Forces Legal Services Project. They both accepted my invitation. It was a good day all around. Please be mindful of what veterans can do for veterans during these harrowing times. Pulling for the OAR Program New lawyers seeking guidance and support, in a range of practice areas, have a new Bar program connecting them to experienced volunteer attorneys. The unique, new Online Attorney Resource (OAR) program, developed by our Bar volunteers and staff, and available through the Member’s Only section of the Bar’s website, will benefit both new and experienced attorneys and, ultimately and equally importantly, our clients. I challenge both new and experienced attorneys to take advantage of this exciting new program. Further details will be forthcoming. Roger Williams University School of Law’s Entrepreneurial Clinic Many law school graduates are currently facing the repayment of large student loans, a dearth of job opportunities, and a horrific economy. To further complicate matters, many law schools are not providing law students with the practical skills to prepare them for practice in the real world. And, over forty percent of recent Roger Williams University (RWU) School of Law graduates are members of our Bar Association. RWU is working to provide its students with an expansive commercial law skill set with its Entrepreneurial Clinic. The Clinic’s goal, with the assistance of local attorneys and other professionals, is to help RWU law students develop more effective client interaction skills, applying their academic knowledge to actual cases. Stay tuned for further information on the Clinic, aimed at an early 2012 launch. So, that’s five columns for the price of one! I hope you enjoyed this message. It brought back old times. Good times. And, one final point, happy holidays to you and yours. Here’s hoping that 2012 is a great one for all of us! ❖ RHODE ISLAND BAR JOURNAL Editorial Statement The Rhode Island Bar Journal is the Rhode Island Bar Association’s official magazine for Rhode Island attorneys, judges and others interested in Rhode Island law. The Bar Journal is a paid, subscription magazine published bi-monthly, six times annually and sent to, among others, all practicing attorneys and sitting judges, in Rhode Island. This constitutes an audience of over 6,000 individuals. Covering issues of relevance and providing updates on events, programs and meetings, the Rhode Island Bar Journal is a magazine that is read on arrival and, most often, kept for future reference. The Bar Journal publishes scholarly discourses, commentary on the law and Bar activities, and articles on the administration of justice. While the Journal is a serious magazine, our articles are not dull or somber. We strive to publish a topical, thought-provoking magazine that addresses issues of interest to significant segments of the Bar. We aim to publish a magazine that is read, quoted and retained. The Bar Journal encourages the free expression of ideas by Rhode Island Bar members. The Bar Journal assumes no responsibility for opinions, statements and facts in signed articles, except to the extent that, by publication, the subject matter merits attention. The opinions expressed in editorials represent the views of at least two-thirds of the Editorial Board, and they are not the official view of the Rhode Island Bar Association. Letters to the Editors are welcome. Article Selection Criteria • The Rhode Island Bar Journal gives primary preference to original articles, written expressly for first publication in the Bar Journal, by members of the Rhode Island Bar Association. The Bar Journal does not accept unsolicited articles from individuals who are not members of the Rhode Island Bar Association. Articles previously appearing in other publications are not accepted. • All submitted articles are subject to the Journal’s editors’ approval, and they reserve the right to edit or reject any articles and article titles submitted for publication. • Selection for publication is based on the article’s relevance to our readers, determined by content and timeliness. Articles appealing to the widest range of interests are particularly appreciated. However, commentaries dealing with more specific areas of law are given equally serious consideration. • Preferred format includes: a clearly presented statement of purpose and/or thesis in the introduction; supporting evidence or arguments in the body; and a summary conclusion. • Citations conform to the Uniform System of Citation • Maximum article size is approximately 3,500 words. However, shorter articles are preferred. • While authors may be asked to edit articles themselves, the editors reserve the right to edit pieces for legal size, presentation and grammar. • Articles are accepted for review on a rolling basis. Meeting the criteria noted above does not guarantee publication. Articles are selected and published at the discretion of the editors. • Submissions are preferred in a Microsoft Word format emailed as an attachment or on disc. Hard copy is acceptable, but not recommended. • Authors are asked to include an identification of their current legal position and a photograph, (headshot) preferably in a jpg file of, at least, 350 d.p.i., with their article submission. Direct inquiries and send articles and author’s photographs for publication consideration to: Rhode Island Bar Journal Editor Frederick D. Massie email: fmassie@ribar.com telephone: 401-421-5740 Material published in the Rhode Island Bar Journal remains the property of the Journal, and the author consents to the rights of the Rhode Island Bar Journal to copyright the work. 4 November/December 2011 Rhode Island Bar Journal
Criminal Consequences of Sending False Information on Social Media John R. Grasso, Esq. Law Office of John R. Grasso, Inc. Brandon Fontaine Roger Williams University School of Law 3L & Law Review Articles Editor If you used a computer in Rhode Island during the last 20 years, chances are you’re a criminal because Rhode Island’s computer crimes law makes it a crime to transmit untruthful or exaggerated statements. If you used a computer in Rhode Island during the last 20 years, chances are you’re a criminal because Rhode Island’s computer crimes law – Section 11-52-7(b) of the Rhode Island General Laws – makes it a crime to transmit untruthful or exaggerated statements. Specifically, the use of a computer to knowingly transmit any false information is chargeable as a criminal offense. Knowingly posting a lie on Facebook, or any other social media, is a crime in Rhode Island punishable by up to one year in prison. Emailing information you know not be true is a crime in Rhode Island. Sending a knowingly false text message is unlawful. Section 11-52-7(b) makes what are everyday occurrences misdemeanor crimes. Would the police investigate and charge a person with lying on Facebook? Would the police issue subpoenas, secure search warrants, and use special technology to track down a liar on Facebook? Would the State charge that liar? Would the court convict and sentence him? If the suspect was a police officer, and he purposely created a Facebook page identifying the Facebook profile as that of his police chief, the answer to every one of these questions is yes. Even if the suspect published facts on the alleged user’s profile so laughable that every person who saw the profile knew it was a joke, the State of Rhode Island would hunt him down, arrest, prosecute, and sentence him. This actually happened in one recent Rhode Island case charged under the statute. Is it really criminal conduct to create a parody profile on Facebook, a popular social networking website, where the suspected wrongdoer intentionally misspelled his chief’s first and last name, listed fictitious interests to include “Haiti, SpongeBob SquarePants, Milking Cows, Quilting, Sewing, Music, Police officers, and Reggae,” so that it was clear from the reactions of his friends that the profile was a joke? 1 Yes. Following his arrest, the officer was charged under the Computer Crimes chapter of the Rhode Island General Laws with violating section 11-52-7(b) for “transmitting false data,” specifically false data relating to his chief, “with the knowledge that it was false.” Section 11-52-7(b) states that: Whoever intentionally or knowingly: 1) makes a transmission of false data; or 2) makes, presents or uses or causes to be made, presented or used any data for any other purpose with knowledge of its falsity, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to the penalties set forth in § 11- 52-5. 2 “Data,” as used within the statute, is further defined as: …any representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts, or instructions which are being prepared or have been prepared and are intended to be entered, processed, or stored, are being entered, processed, or stored or have been entered, processed, or stored in a computer, computer system, or computer network. 3 While individuals often do not conduct themselves in a socially acceptable manner, criminal prosecution is not always warranted. 4 In this case, by criminally charging the police officer with “transmitting false data,” the State violated his First Amendment freedom of expression because the statute is unconstitutionally: 1) overbroad; 2) vague; 3) content-based; and, at the end of the day, the alleged wrongdoer’s publication is nothing more than a parody. Overbreadth “The overbreadth doctrine arises when a statutory enactment is so broad in its sweep that it is capable of reaching constitutionally protected conduct. The overbreadth doctrine generally applies in the context of First Amendment freedoms and is intended to prevent the imposition of criminal penalties for the exercise of one’s constitutional rights.” 5 Section 11-52- 7(b) is substantially overbroad because it criminalizes speech protected by the First Amendment and Article I, Section 21 of the Rhode Island Constitution, which ensures that “no law abridging the freedom of speech shall be enacted.” Statutory challenges on overbreadth grounds Rhode Island Bar Journal November/December 2011 5
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